If you have questions about commands please check the help pages, public message board, these Operator Guidelines, and other Operators with annoucements on it before sending email. If you have already checked these other locations, still can't find the answer, and you feel it is important then ask HeavensAngel, ZaZu, SirTLow, or Gambit via chat /mail.
Please be clear and precise if reporting a problem and only report if the problem appears to be consistent and not due to your provider or machine. I don't have time to respond to all questions regarding is changes by email or while working on things in the chat but if it is important enough I will post a notice.
A "/whois #" will list all Operators online. This does make /who [location] a bit redundant since you can also do a /whois [location] with the same result except the /whois will match case insensitive.
Granted Ops can not /kick, /ban, /summon, /unban, /post, or /img.
Operators can not create rooms for other users and leave as the new room will collapse and put the other users back on the "Doorstep".
Delinquent accounts have been expired, if you can't get in you will need to reapply!
Operators who signed up before Jan 2nd 1995 have Operator Access to the new server while the original server is being relocated. For more information see Pre - '96 Ops.
Please, do not share your account or password with your friends as this is cause for removal of the account without refund. One individual may have 2 IP addresses, one for home the other for work or school. If you are caught sharing your account with your schoomates or coworkers your account will be revoked without refund. Due to the recent rash of shared accounts it is now detected in the server and even accounts shared at home will no longer be allowed.
It has been said that we record everything that goes on here but this just plain isn't true. All the information is kept in memory not in a hard file and persists only as long as the server is running. Private messages persist in memory only 3 minutes. Private rooms hold only the last 60 lines typed and are destroyed after 5 minutes of inactivity.
It has also been said that we can tap in on others converstions, see into private rooms, or break into private room and again this is all untrue and we don't support this kind of invasion of privacy.
If for security reasons we did code something in to check up on someone they would get a notice that thier conversation may be logged for informational purposes before they even typed anything.
Private rooms are just that, private as long as you know everyone in the room. As soon as you start summoning unknown people into the room you MAY be subjected to the rules at policies of public rooms! Illegal activites anywhere on the chat are not allowed but you forfiet any right to privacy as soon as you summon an unknown person into the room. If they complain about, record, or forward any of that information then you the maintainer of the private room (the owner of the /lock) are legally responsible and may loose your Ops privledges.
What does this mean? This means if you are carrying out any kind of illegal activity or promoting illegal activity in a private room and you summon someone in, expect to loose your Ops privledges. This includes promotion of illegal substances as long as the law still says they are illegal for anyone in the room to consume. This also includes kiddie porn or talking dirty to someone underage.
Use of the chat or other pages at this site for commercial or non-commercial promotion or advertisement without prior explicit agreement by Alamak Internet is not allowed.
Disagreements between Operators should be resolved by private message or in a private room with other Operators to moderate. Public criticism between Operators is strongly discouraged.
Operators are not required to kick or ban anyone since the main point here is to have fun. Operators who do not want to police should not defend thier friends who are not following chat policies. If you do have a conflict with an Operator who is fairly enforcing chat policies you may be suspended on recommendation by the Operator Committee.
The OPERATOR COMMITTEE is composed of volunteers selected by reputation and a vote among the nominees. They read the initial complaint mail, determining the details, and then if needed recommend an address be put on the permanent ban list or warn the overzealous Operator at fault. If these do not prove satisfactory to curb the problem then the committee can recomend and enforce suspension or removal of Operator privledges.
For further information on BANS and complaint proceedures click HERE.
Operators, you're out there doing a good job and I really appreciate it. I would like to ask though that if you /kick or /ban make sure you do it for a good reason. Recently the reason it takes so long to handle requests for address changes and add new ops is alot of time is spent dealing with chatters who feel they have been kicked or banned unfairly and are really pissed off at some Operator. If you take action especially for little cause, I get the flak here.
Please pay special attention to Teens and make sure it stays decent there! It would be bad for everyone if someday the government felt the need to regulate or even force closure of chat sites so let's not give them cause for complaint and keep the place decent.
Don't let users bully you! Chat policies are clearly stated on the regular user login page. Don't argue with people using FOUL LANGUAGE or OFFENSIVE NICKNAMES, /kick or /ban them with an explaination. If the offense seems minor or an isolated case a warning may be more appropriate than a /kick or /ban.
Make sure you are fair and make impartial decisions and support free exchange of ideas within the law. Harrassment, foul language, public vulgarity, illegal subject matter, insults, and bigotry should not be tolerated.
It is best to make your own decisions or check with other Operators to get a second opinion. You can provide an explaining when you do your kick or ban to reduce the questions by other users about your actions, and don't allow yourself to get sucked into an arguement about free speech and so on. This is the internet but the machine that this chat runs on is owned by Alamak Internet and since we are pay the bills we have the right to make the rules.
The /ban command should be used as a very last resort only. Remember, personal conflicts should not be resolved by the use of these commands or the threat of use. Use of this command should be restricted to cases of harrassment or refusing to cooperate and stop behavior that is offensive the majority of users.